Enclosure assembly

ABSTRACT

An enclosure assembly for apparatuses of the type for removing solid contaminates from a gaseous stream including a support member having a plurality of wall members mounted so as to define an enclosed area therebetween. At least one wall member extends between others of the wall members defining compartments for the enclosure. Each compartment includes a removable wall member to enable access to the interior of each compartment. A quickreleasable locking assembly releasably secures the removable wall member of each compartment to at least one other of the wall members of each compartment. Each locking assembly includes at least one yieldable locking member which is connected in snapaction relation between the removable wall member and the other wall member to facilitate removal of the removable wall member of one compartment to enable access to the interior of the associated compartment while the remaining compartments remain enclosed.

United States Patent 1191 Jamlol 1 Oct. 8, 11974 ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLY Primary Examiner-Frank W. Lwtter Assistant Examiner-Vincent Gifford [75] Inventor' gg Jamaal North Royalton Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Teare, Teare & Sammon [73] Assignee: Envirotech Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Jan. 3, 1972 An enclosure assembly for apparatuses of the type for I i removing solid contaminates from a gaseous stream [21] Appl' 214661 including a support member having a plurality of wall members mounted so as to define an enclosed area [52] US. Cl 55/341, 24/73 CF, 55/359, therebetween. At least one wall member extends be- 220/4 R tween others of the wall members defining compart- [51] Int. Cl 1B01ld 46/02 ments for the enclosure. Each compartment includes a [58] Field of Search 55/341, 359, 369-371, removable wall member to enable access to the inte- 55/478-481; 24/73 CF; 292/87; 220/4 R, 17, rior of each compartment. A quick-releasable locking 55 D, 55 E, 55 F, 55 G, 55 BD assembly releasably secures the removable wall member of each compartment to at least one other of the [56] References Cited wall members of each compartment. Each locking as- UNITED STATES PATENTS sembly includes at least one yieldable locking member 392 061 6/1908 Kruse 292/87 ux which is connected in snap'action relation between 1,2271590 5 1917 Deindoerfer 292/87 the removable Wall member and the other wall 1346706 2/1932 Carmen H 55/431 ber to facilitate removal of the removable wall mem- 3,377,783 4/1968 Young 55/481 X ber of one compartment to enable access to the inte 3,513,638 5/1970 Young 55/341 X rior of the associated compartment while the remain- 3,550,359 12/1970 Fisher et a1. 55/481 X ing compartments remain enclosed. 3,636,683 l/l972 Francis et al. 55/497 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to apparatus of the type for removing solid contaminates, such as dust particles or the like, from a gaseous fluid stream, such as air or the like, wherein a filter media is mounted within an enclosure in the path ofthe gaseous fluid stream, and more particularly, to a form of housing or enclosure for supporting the filter media to enable ready removal thereof, when desired.

Generally, housings for such apparatuses have included a plurality of compartments each of which contains a plurality of filter members, such as tubular bags, which are disposed in the path of the contaminated gaseous fluid so as to remove the contaminates therefrom. In such apparatuses it is periodically necessary to change respective ones of the filter bags when they are worn out or damaged, or all of the filter bags when a change is made in the nature of the material being filtered. In the past, a horizontal cover member was mounted adjacent the upper end of the collector enclosure adjacent to the clean air manifold. This cover member extended across the various compartments and was fastened to the enslosure frame by conventional fasteners assemblies, such as nuts and bolts. Using these conventional fastener assemblies, it has been found extremely cumbersome and time consuming to remove these cover members when it was necessary to gain access to the interior of the housing. Further, such an arrangement necessitated the complete cessation of the filtering operation for objectionable lengths of time in order to remove and/or replace a single bag or all of the bags in only one of the compartments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates providing an improved housing construction for a filtering apparatus which will enable easy access to the interior of the housing without unduly interfering with the filtering operation. In the housing of the present invention there is a support member having a plurality of wall members mounted therein which together define an enclosure therebetween. At least one of the wall members extends between others of the wall members to define a plurality of compartments for the enclosure. Each of the compartments includes a removable wall member such as a roof member, to enable access to the interior thereof. A quick-releasable locking assembly is associated with each of the removable wall members to enable quick, facile detachment of the removable wall member from others of the wall members, and then, enable access to the interior of one or more of the respective compartments. Each locking assembly comprises at least one yieldable locking member connected in snap-action relation between the removable wall mem ber of a respective one of the compartments and at least one other of the wall members of such compartment to facilitate detachment thereof. Further, the locking assembly includes an abutment member for deformably engaging the locking member in interlocking relation to urge the removable wall member into tight sealing engagement with at least one other of the wall members of a respective one of the compartments in the installed position of the removable wall member during the filtering operation.

By the foregoing arrangement, there is provided a housing construction which enables entrance into any one of a plurality of cleaning compartments while the other compartments remain enclosed. Thus, the collecting operation may be continued in the other com partments while maintenance procedures are carried out in the one compartment. In addition, the present invention provides for quick releasable attachment of the roof wall of each of the compartments so as to readily facilitate its detachment. from the adjacent walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a fragmentary, perspective view of a dust collecting apparatus having the enclosure assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 2 showing the quick-releasable locking assemy;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, perspective view of another embodiment of the quick-releasable locking assembly of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now again to FIG. 1, there is illustrated, generallyat 2, a dust collecting apparatus which is shown as including a housing 4 having a cleaning chamher 6 which is mounted below and supports an enclosed clean air plenum 8. As shown, the clean air plenum 8 is defined in one direction by a front wall 9 and a rear wall 10 which are interconnected by opposed side walls 12 and 14. Partition walls 16 and 18 extend between the front wall 9 and rear wall 10 dividing the clean air plenum 8 into a plurality of separate compartments 20a, 20b, and 200, and forming side walls therefore along with the side walls 12 and 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning chamber 6 is also divided into a plurality of cleaning compartments, such as 60, 6b, etc., which are disposed immediately below the respective compartments 20a, 20b, etc., of the clean air plenum 8 being separated therefrom by bottom walls or plates 22a, 22b, etc. Each of the bottom walls 22a is provided with a plurality of apertures, such as at 23, each of which is adapted toreceive a filter member 24 therein such as a tubular bag, and which is adapted to support the filter bag 24 within the respective cleaning compartments, such as 6a, in the path of the contaminated air flowing through the housing 4. As shown in FIG. 1, each of the compartments 20a, 20b, and 20c includes a roof or top wall 26a, 26b, 260, respectively. A quickreleasable locking means, as at 28, removably secures each of the top walls, such as 2611, of the respective compartments, such as 200, in the installed position and enables quick and facile remoal of the top wall when necessary to perform maintenance and/or repair work within the compartment 200.

As shown in FIG. 2 each of the top walls, such as 260, of the respective compartments, such as 20a, comprises a flat sheet material, such as sheet steel or the like. Each of the top walls, such as 26a, is supported adjacent its peripheral edges by shelf-like support bars, such as at 30 and 31, which may be mounted on adjacent side walls, such as the side wall 14, partition wall 18, front wall 9 and rear wall 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the support bars. such as 30, comprise angle iron bars having one leg 32 secured to one of the side walls. such as the partition wall 18, being attached thereto, such as welding or the like. The other of the legs 33 extends generally horizontally inwardly from the wall 18 and into the compartment 20a being adapted to support the top wall 26a thereon. As shown, a sealing gasket 35 may be mounted adjacent the upper surface, as at 36, of each of the legs 33 to provide a seal between the interior and exterior of the compartments 20a. In addition, each of the top walls, such as 26a may include an up-standing rim 38 adjacent the outer peripheral edges thereof to reduce the entrance of moisture and foreign material into the compartment 20a from the exterior thereof when the roof wall 26a is in the mounted position as in FIG. 3.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the quick-releasable locking means 28 is shown as including a plurality of detachable locking assemblies, as at 40, each including a deformable locking member 42 and a cam attachment assembly 43. The locking member 42 is connected at one end to one of the walls, such as the top wall 26a, being adapted at its opposite end for snap-action engagement with another of the wall members, such as the partition wall member 18. In the form shown in FIG. 3, the locking member 42 comprises a leaf spring which is bent back adjacent one end, such as the lower end 44 for pivotal attachment to a mounting assembly 45. As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting assembly 45 includes a pair of mounting brackets 46 and 47 which support a pivot pin 48 therebetween. The bend in the lower end 44 of the spring 42 is generally circular so as to encompass the pivot pin 48 and enable pivotal movement of the spring 42 thereabout. The opposite or upper end 50 of the spring 42 also includes a generally circular bend which is shown as having a radius of curvature larger than the bend adjacent the lower end 44. The cam attachment assembly 43 includes an abutment member 52 mounted on the other walls, such as the partition wall 18, which coacts with support bars, such as 30, to attach the upper end 50 of the spring member 42 in snapaction relation to the partition wall 18. The abutment member 52, in the form shown, comprises an elongated bar 52 which may be made of any suitable material, such as metal or the like, and which may be secured to the partition wall 18, such as by welding or the like. As shown, the mounting bracket 40 is positioned adjacent the peripheral edge of the top wall 260 such that the lower end of the locking member 42 will be positioned inwardly from the partition wall 38 when the top wall 26a is in the installed position. Further, the abutment member 52 is positioned on the partition wall 18 above the axis of the pivot pin 48 such that the locking element 42 can be pivoted into and out of interlocking snap-action engagement with the abutment member 52. As shown, the minimum linear length, indicated by the dimension 1) of the locking member 42 is greater than the maximum transverse distance between the abutment member 52 and axis of the pivot pin 48, indicated bythe dimension a, such that when the free end of the locking member 42 is pivoted into camming engagement with the abutment member 52, the locking member 42 will be deformed in its lengthwise dimension when the top wall 26a is in the seated position on the support bars, such as 30, creating a spring-like effeet to bias the top wall 260 into tight sealing engagement on the sealing gasket 35. Further. the radius of curvature of the bent upper end 50 of the locking arm 42 is made sufficiently large such that the locking member 42 simultaneously engages the partition wall 18, as at 54, and the abutment member 52, as at 56. By this arrangement, the locking member 42 will also apply a force outwardly on the wall 18 as well as downwardly as previously mentioned.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of locking assemblies 40 may be mounted in laterally spaced relationship. along the peripheral edges of the respective top walls, such as 20a, for engagement with the adjacent walls including the front 9, rear 10, side 12 and 14, and partition 16 and 18 walls. As can be seen, by pivoting the respective locking members 42 out of engagement with the respective abutting members 52, the top walls, such as 26c, can be easily raised away from the housing 4 to provide access to the interior of the respective compartments, such as 200 (FIG. 1). By this arrangement, the remaining top walls such as 200 and 20b can remain in position on the housing 4 to enable the filtering operation to be continued in the other compartments 6a and 6b.

Referring now to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the locking assembly of the present invention is illustrated at 60 being arranged in reverse orientation with respect to the locking assembly 40. As shown, a mounting bracket 62 is shown secured to an upright wall 64. An abutment member 69 is secured to a horizontal wall, such as a top wall 66. In this arrangement, a locking member 70 has its upper end pivotally connected to the mounting bracket 62, such as by the pivot pin 72, and its lower end 74 adapted for interlocking snap-action engagement with the abutment member 69. In this form, the abutment member 69 is biased inwardly from the peripheral edge of the top wall 66, and the mounting bracket 62 is positioned above the abutment member 69 such that the locking member 70 again exerts a downward and inward pressure on the abutment member 69 for deforming the locking member 70 in a lengthwise dimension by moving the lower end 74 toward its upper end 73 and thus, urges the roof wall 66 into tight sealing engagement with a sealing gasket 76 carried by a support bar 78 secured to the upright wall 64.

I claim: 1. A dust collecting apparatus of the type including a housing which defines more than one cleaning compartment, each of said cleaning compartments includes an inlet for receiving contaminated air and an outlet for discharging cleaned air, at least one filter member is disposed in each of said cleaning compartments between the inlet and outlet thereof for collecting contaminants thereon, a clean air plenum is disposed above each of the cleaning compartments into which the clean air passes from the cleaning compartment for discharge from the apparatus,

each of said clean air plenums is defined by a plurality of wall members which form a part of said housing including a removable wall member,

quick-disconnectable securement means interconnects said removable wall member with said other wall members to facilitate the removal of said removable wall member when desiring access to the interior of a respective one of said clean air plenurns,

said securement means comprises a plurality of locking assemblies each connecting said removable wall members to a respective one of said other wall members.

said locking assemblies each includes,

a support member on said one of said other wall members for seatingly supporting said removable wall member adjacent its edge in the installed position thereof,

an abutment member mounted on said one of said other wall members,

a deformable, resilient locking member pivotally connected at one end to said removable wall member and free at its opposite end for camming, snap-action, releasable interlocking engagement with said abutment member and said one of said other wall members to hold said removable wall member in seated relation on said support member,

sealing means between said removable wall member and said support member in the installed position thereof,

said sealing means includes a gasket member disposed adjacent the edge of said removable wall member seated on said support member to seal the interior from the exterior of said clean air plenum,

said removable wall member includes an upstanding rim element extending along the periphery thereof for positioning in confronting relation to respective ones of said other wall members to reduce the pos sibility of the entrance of foreign matter into the interior of said clean air plenum, and said locking member being compressibly deformed in its lengthwise direction when in interlocked engagement with said abutment member and said other wall member for urging said removable wall member into tight seated engagement with said support member. 2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gasket member is mounted adjacent said upstanding rim element to provide a seal between said upstanding rim element and the confronting one of said other wall members in the installed position of said removable wall member.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said wall members are made of a sheet material.

4. A dust collecting apparatus of the type including a housing which defines more than one cleaning compartment, each of said cleaning compartments includes an inlet for receiving contaminated air and an outlet for discharging cleaned air, at least one filter member is disposed in each of said cleaning compartments between the inlet and outlet thereof for collecting contaminants thereon, a clean air plenum is disposed above each of the cleaning compartments into which the clean air passes from the cleaning compartment for discharge from the apparatus,

each of said clean air plenums is defined by a plurality of wall members which form a part of said housing including a removable wall member,

quick-disconnectable securement means interconnects said removable wall member with said other wall members to facilitate the removal of said removable wall member when desiring access to the interior of a respective one of said clean air plenums,

said securement means comprises a plurality of locking assemblies each connecting said removable wall members to a respective one of said other wall members,

said locking assemblies each includes,

a support member for seatingly supporting said removable wall member in the installed position thereof,

an abutment member mounted on said removable wall member,

a deformable, resilient locking member pivotally connected at one end to one of said other wall members and free at its other end for camming, snap-action, releasable interlocking engagement withsaid abutment member and said removable wall member, to hold said removable wall member in seated relation on said support members,

sealing means between said removable wall member and said support member in the installed position thereof,

said sealing means includes a gasket member disposed adjacent the edge of said removable wall member seated on said support member to seal the interior from the exterior of said clean air plenum,

said removable wall member includes an upstanding rim element extending along the periphery thereof for positioning in confronting relation to respective ones of said other wall members to reduce the possibility of the entrance of foreign matter into the interior of said clean air plenumn, and

said locking member being compressibly deformed in its lengthwise direction when in interlocked engagement with said abutment member and said removable wall member for urging said removable member into tight seated engagement with said support member.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein said gasket member is mounted adjacent said upstanding rim element to provide a seal between said up-standing rim element and the confronting one of said other wall members in the installed position of said removable wall member.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein said wall members are made of a sheet material. 

1. A dust collecting apparatus of the type including a housing which defines more than one cleaning compartment, each of said cleaning compartments includes an inlet for receiving contaminated air and an outlet for discharging cleaned air, at least one filter member is disposed in each of said cleaning compartments between the inlet and outlet thereof for collecting contaminants thereon, a clean air plenum is disposed above each of the cleaning compartments into which the clean air passes from the cleaning compartment for discharge from the apparatus, each of said clean air plenums is defined by a plurality of wall members which form a part of said housing including a removable wall member, quick-disconnectable securement means interconnects said removable wall member with said other wall members to facilitate the removal of said removable wall member when desiring access to the interior of a respective one of said clean air plenums, said securement means comprises a plurality of locking assemblies each connecting said removable wall members to a respective one of said other wall members, said locking assemblies each includes, a support member on said one of said other wall members for seatingly supporting said removable wall member adjacent its edge in the installed position thereof, an abutment member mounted on said one of said other wall members, a deformable, resilient locking member pivotally connected at one end to said removable wall member and free at its opposite end for camming, snap-action, releasable interlocking engagement with said abutment member and said one of said other wall members to hold said removable wall member in seated relation on said support member, sealing means between saId removable wall member and said support member in the installed position thereof, said sealing means includes a gasket member disposed adjacent the edge of said removable wall member seated on said support member to seal the interior from the exterior of said clean air plenum, said removable wall member includes an upstanding rim element extending along the periphery thereof for positioning in confronting relation to respective ones of said other wall members to reduce the possibility of the entrance of foreign matter into the interior of said clean air plenum, and said locking member being compressibly deformed in its lengthwise direction when in interlocked engagement with said abutment member and said other wall member for urging said removable wall member into tight seated engagement with said support member.
 2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said gasket member is mounted adjacent said up-standing rim element to provide a seal between said up-standing rim element and the confronting one of said other wall members in the installed position of said removable wall member.
 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said wall members are made of a sheet material.
 4. A dust collecting apparatus of the type including a housing which defines more than one cleaning compartment, each of said cleaning compartments includes an inlet for receiving contaminated air and an outlet for discharging cleaned air, at least one filter member is disposed in each of said cleaning compartments between the inlet and outlet thereof for collecting contaminants thereon, a clean air plenum is disposed above each of the cleaning compartments into which the clean air passes from the cleaning compartment for discharge from the apparatus, each of said clean air plenums is defined by a plurality of wall members which form a part of said housing including a removable wall member, quick-disconnectable securement means interconnects said removable wall member with said other wall members to facilitate the removal of said removable wall member when desiring access to the interior of a respective one of said clean air plenums, said securement means comprises a plurality of locking assemblies each connecting said removable wall members to a respective one of said other wall members, said locking assemblies each includes, a support member for seatingly supporting said removable wall member in the installed position thereof, an abutment member mounted on said removable wall member, a deformable, resilient locking member pivotally connected at one end to one of said other wall members and free at its other end for camming, snap-action, releasable interlocking engagement with said abutment member and said removable wall member, to hold said removable wall member in seated relation on said support members, sealing means between said removable wall member and said support member in the installed position thereof, said sealing means includes a gasket member disposed adjacent the edge of said removable wall member seated on said support member to seal the interior from the exterior of said clean air plenum, said removable wall member includes an upstanding rim element extending along the periphery thereof for positioning in confronting relation to respective ones of said other wall members to reduce the possibility of the entrance of foreign matter into the interior of said clean air plenumn, and said locking member being compressibly deformed in its lengthwise direction when in interlocked engagement with said abutment member and said removable wall member for urging said removable member into tight seated engagement with said support member.
 5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein said gasket member is mounted adjacent said up-standing rim element to provide a seal between said up-standing rim element and the confronting one of said other wall members in the installed position of said removaBle wall member.
 6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein said wall members are made of a sheet material. 